Anniversary

Some of you know me some of you don't.  How many of you know that I am a member of The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day Saints?  How many of you know that I served a mission in Chicago, Illinois?  Yep, that is right and during this time is when I learned how to talk to people.  I met some really outstanding people.  I met a man who had a stroke and had lost the use of the left side of his body.  We as missionaries would help him walk up and down the apartment corridors to stay in shape and not let his body go into complete shut down.  He was a Jewish man I think in his 80's but I am unsure.  He was alive during World War 2 and the depression.  He didn't come out of either unscathed.  I learned a lot about life from him.  It isn't easy, it is hard.  Life pitches you fast balls, curve balls, knuckle balls, you name it life has it in store for you. 

But that is not all, no that is not all.  I once heard a friend say numerous times that if life gives me a lemon I will make lemonade.  I know that is not his saying but he uses it a lot so I will give it to him for the time being.  Often that is what you got to do.  Lemons make lemonade.

I joined The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day Saints, on Jan 29th, 1995.  I was a teenager.  I served the mission in Chicago, Illinois.  I went back home.  Where a friend from High School Larry Sell introduced me to my wife.  See, the problem with Larry is that he won't take no for an answer; if he thinks something is the best thing for you.  You can say no a thousand times and he will nag and he will bother.  So my wife and I both knowing that Larry is that way,said yes I will meet this other person you want me to meet. 

I met my wife in the parking lot of a Petsmart, where she worked.  We agreed to go on a date, but not alone we doubled with Larry and his then girl friend Aubrey.  Heather, Aubrey, and I went on a date, Larry missed out.  I think we stayed up talking at Aubrey's parents' house until 230-300am or something like that.  But it was great just talking about plans and life and how I joined the church.  Asking questions answering question. 

Next date was without me because I was busy getting away from this girl I had started to like by joining the Army.  The third date Aubrey was absent and Larry, Heather and I went out to a park and left quickly, before it started to rain.  I think......This one is more hazy for me. 

Regardless, it was 3 1/2 weeks from the first day that I met my wife to when I proposed to her.  Her response "I think so".  All that day while I worked I worried what she really thought.  When I saw her that night she was still wearing the ring. 

Because I joined the Army I went to boot camp before we were married.  I got to Florida for my job training and had the Christmas break off.  Guess what that is when we got married.  It just so happens that the day we set as our anniversary was the 21st of December.  Did you know that the 21st of December is the shortest day of the year, but the longest night?  That is right I got married on the longest night of the year.  Smart I would say even if it was the Army that dictated when we could get married.

Well, here again the 21st is coming up and yet this time I won't be with the Love of my Life.  Nope I will be some thousands of miles away flying on airplanes to see the family just before Christmas comes.

In all the years previous and all the years since life has pitched us a few curve balls, a few fast balls, and a few knuckle balls.  We haven't escaped unscathed.  I know that our youngest baby right now is a blessing.  If she was a hard baby then Heather would have a lot harder time while we are geographically separated.  While  I know that Heavenly Father has answered our prayers saying we are done with children.  There is a small reminder that if we wanted another one it was ok.  But I love my wife.  And the last 4 have been really hard on her.  I love my children, I do but I guess I am selfish because if I ever lost Heather I don't know where I would be in life.  I would be lost.  I would keep going for sure because that is what Heavenly Father would want me to do. 

So Heather on our day the day we were joined.  I want you to know that I love you and our eternal relationship will be just that eternal like a ring.

Debt and Taxes

Eleven score and fifteen years ago “our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation conceived in Liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal” (Lincoln, 1863).  Now presently it has been seven score and eight years ago that Abraham Lincoln has given the Gettysburg Address.  Similar to 1863 with a war to free men from bondage, there is a war that if not resolved will enslave our children.  The United States’ (US) debt looms over the Nation like a cruel taskmaster.  The uncertainty of our economy has plagued the US for years.  The debt is money owed to the US creditors.  Analogous to personal finances getting the debt in control will take a two-fold approach; spend less or make cuts and bring in more money.  The US needs to do these things to get their House, Senate, and State in order. 

Currently the US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is approximately $15.08 trillion (News, 2011).  The National Debt is approximately $14.3 trillion (Government, 2011).  The ratio of Debt-to-GDP is 94.8%.  The first element of change needed to reign in the debt is to cut spending.  Things like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Veterans Benefits, and the Department of Defense are often at the top of the cuts debate.  Social Security and Department of Defense are two of the three largest tax consuming recipients in the US.

Social Security is a Ponzi scheme.  The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has identified a Ponzi scheme as “an investment fraud that involves the payment of purported returns to existing investors from funds contributed by new investors” (SEC, 2011.)  Social Security was created in 1937 and is separated into two categories; Old Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) and Disability Insurance (DI).  In all but fourteen of the seventy-four years, since its inception, Social Security has taken in more money than it has paid out (Trust Fund, 2011).  The $2.4 trillion that was given to the Social Security trust fund was supposed to be there however, it has been spent by the government on other programs.  Social Security money comes from paychecks and is immediately paid to Social Security beneficiaries.  It will not remain solvent long, thus, the nomenclature of Ponzi scheme.  Those who are working are paying now to support others and will not receive money later.

The cuts recommended to the Social Security are few.  To fix Social Security every individual person that is receiving benefits, will not receive benefits beyond what they have contributed.  For example an Oklahoma woman, Karri, was married for ten years.  Her husband died at thirty-two and for the last nine years she has received $1,600 a month in OASI Social Security benefits.  Her husband had fourteen years of labor at the 6.25% tax rate.  He would have to average at least $197,485.76 per year to account for $1,600 a month for nine years.  The solution, starting now all Social Security benefits recipients will only receive OASI and/or DI Social Security benefits based upon the amount of money contributed.  The Social Security reform will not allow you to get more than what you put into the program ceteris paribus.

The Department of Defense (DoD) comprises of a number of ancillary departments.  Specifically it houses the three military departments.  The military provides a service to the people of the US.  The cost of the DoD and the wars this year is approximately $702 billion as of July 27^th, 2011.  There are programs within each department of the government that has budget oversights.  The DoD is scrutinized more, Senator John McCain stated, “the F-35 both in terms of buying the aircraft and their sustainment costs, which are currently estimated to be a jaw-dropping $1 trillion over the F-35’s lifecycle. (McCain, 2011).”  Gratuitous oversight and budget overrun cost the government millions and billions per year.  These overrun programs need to be weeded out of the DoD.  The budget planning needs to be scrutinized to ensure sacred use of tax payer monies.

When a family creates a budget, decides upon cuts, and increases income by getting second jobs?  Then a family can move forward with paying off creditors and eliminating debt.  The government does not have a job to create revenue.  Taxes are the vessel by which the government receives its “income”.  Currently the government uses a progressive taxation system.  A progressive tax “charges a higher percentage of income as income rises (Tucker, page 332).  The current stand-off in Washington centers on income tax increases, budget cuts, and debt increases.  Why tax those who are paying more?  The average millionaire in America is “a fifty-seven-year-old male, married with three children (Stanley Ph.D., Danko Ph.D., page 9) Increasing the taxes on the “wealthy” does not improve our economic standing.  It only put a burden on those who have sacrificed all of their life to achieve that wealth.  Rev. William J.H. Boetcker in a1916 pamphlet titled “The Ten Cannot’s” stated (Boetcker, 1916):

“You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.

You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.

You cannot help little men by tearing down big men.

You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.

You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.

You cannot establish sound security on borrowed money.

You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.

You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn.

You cannot build character and courage by destroying men’s initiative and

independence.

And you cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they can and should

do for themselves.”

Taxation linked to income is the wrong way to move forward.  We live in a consumer society.  “Scarcity is the condition in which human wants are forever greater than the available supply of time, goods and resources (Tucker, page 3).”  Due to scarcity tax reform is the way forward to fund our government.

$0-1000                                           8%

$1001-10000                                   16%

$10001-25000                                 24%

$25001-50000                                 32%

$50001 -    ∞                                    40%

This is a progressive-fair tax based upon consumption.  When a consumer purchases an item, if that item falls between $0-1000, then that purchase receives an 8% tax.  Higher priced items will cost more in tax.  If a person wants to purchase a $1.5 million dollar Ferrari then that will be taxed based upon financing rules of a vehicle.  It would be difficult to pay 40% tax. The $1,500,000 divide by six years then divide by twelve payments in a year comes to a monthly payment of $20,833.34.  The tax on this Ferrari will be 24%.  This Ferrari will cost the consumer a total of $360,000 in taxes.  That is $5000 a month in taxes. Another example is the purchase of a home.  If a person wants to purchase a $200,000 home then that will be taxed based upon financing rules of a home.  It would be difficult to pay 32% tax.  The $200,000 divided by thirty years then divided by twelve payments a year comes to a monthly payment of $555.56.  The tax on this home is 8%.  This will increase this payment by $44.44 a month.  And pay a total of $15,998.84 over the thirty years. 

All apartment rent, homes, cars, pencils, or consumer products would be at the price of the progressive-fair tax.  No more illegals not paying, no more corporation loop holes to buy one hundred new computers and use that as a tax write-off.  All income earned is income kept.  If you remain in the 8% tax then you have saved yourself money.  Items required by need such as a home or transportation would be varied based upon the rules of the financing industry. 

            This will increase the government’s income.  Relieving debt and setting free the future children and grand children of the US.  This plan is not comprehensive or detailed.  It needs a fine critiquing.  It is a path of reform.  It is a path of freedom.  No more free handouts.  It is difficult to turn down free money.  The US continues to print money.  Yet the dollar value is plummeting.  It does not have as much purchasing power as it did four years ago.  Minimizing our debt is imperative to the success of our future.  When ten percent of our “income” or a tax is eaten by interest paid to debts it is time for reform.  There are twelve pages of departments and organizations by the federal government.  Our fathers did not fight to bring forth death by taxes or death by debt.  We live in the freest country in the world.  If we cannot free ourselves of ungodly debt we will be slaves to a four letter word, D E B T.

Works Cited

• Boetcker, William J.H. "The Ten Cannots" 1916. Print.

• "Government - Debt to the Penny (Daily History Search Application)." TreasuryDirect. Treasury Direct, 1 Aug. 2011. Web. 01 Aug. 2011. <http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/NPGateway>. 

• Lincoln, Abraham. "Avalon Project - Gettysburg Address." Avalon Project - Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy. 20 Nov. 1863

• McCain, John. "THE NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT." Mccain.senate.gov. 24 June 2011. Web. 01 Aug. 2011. <http://mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressOffice.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=c3416b09-ca0d-d21b-fe69-788ea0a81a6d >.

• "News Release: Gross Domestic Product." U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). BEA.gov, 29July 2011. Web. 01 Aug. 2011. <http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/gdp/gdpnewsrelease.htm>.

• "OASI Trust Fund, a Social Security Fund." The United States Social Security Administration.ssa.gov. Web. 01 Aug. 2011. <http://www.ssa.gov/oact/STATS/table4a1.html>. 

• ""Ponzi" Schemes." U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (Home Page). 01 Aug. 2011. Web.01 Aug. 2011. <http://www.sec.gov/answers/ponzi.htm>.

• Stanley, Thomas J., and William D. Danko. The Millionaire next Door: the Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy. New York: Pocket, 2000. Print.

• "Trust Fund." The United States Social Security Administration. Ssa.gov, 01 Aug. 2011. Web. 01 Aug. 2011. <http://www.ssa.gov/oact/progdata/fundFAQ.html#n6>.

• Tucker, Irvin B. Macroeconomics for Today. Mason, OH: South-Western/Cengage Learning, 2011. Print.

Debt and living within your means

This is one thing that chaps my hide.  I find it ridiculous that military can so easily get credit from companies.  I know that they will have a "secure" job for the next couple of years.  I guess that is a good reason to stop and give someone credit. 

Then don't get me started on Government/Student Loans.  It is better to go into massive debt on a house or car or some other big thing.  For example if you are $45,000 dollars in student loan debt and you get a good paying job after college.  Yeah, you are cruising through life paying them off as you go.  Then you lose your job.  Oh, wait the bank wants to forecloses on your house, and now the repo man is going to take your car.  You are stuck in hard spot.  You claim bankruptcy.  Guess what that $45,000 loan is still following you like a bad cloud.  You can't get rid of it.  You can claim bankruptcy 10 times and guess what that federal money you took, you still have to pay back.

The object is to live within your means with what you make right?  Why can't our government get that through their heads?  Seriously, you would think after 200 + years that we could get something right.  But NOOOO!  They have to go off and screw it up more so than it already is.

The budget cuts identified in negotiations with Boehner and Obama and others in the White House.  From what I can find online, the high side of the reports was $4 trillion ( IN TEN (10) YEARS) that amounts to $400 billion a year. Wow, that is a lot some of you may say.  But hold the phone.  What's this?  This year alone we are running at $1.5 trillion  not billion, not million but trillion dollar deficit.  Let me put it to you this way.  GDP is known as Gross Domestic Product.  Google it for more information.

GDP=$14.8 trillion
Debt=$14.5 trillion
% of debt to GDP = 98%


Let's say this another way.  You make $100,000 a year <--(Yeah right!) You have debt of $98,000 and this year you will spend $110,135.  Seems pretty smart to me to just keep spending.  After all this will stimulate more income.  ( Or in this case because we keep spending money this will create more jobs, thus create more tax payers, thus creating more government income from taxes.)

Even with the $400 billion per year cuts that is still a deficit of $1.1 Trillion or instead of spending $110,135 you would spend $107,432.  Whoop-dee-doo you made no impact on your debt on the contrary not only are you adding to it but you are still paying the interest.


*****NOTE***** These numbers above are actually worse than I mathematically figured because I figured everything from GDP when in actuality we are only getting in $2.4 trillion this year from taxes.  And we are still running a $1.5 trillion deficit.  So much for shovel ready jobs and $1 trillion in the economic stimulus package.  Did any of you get your $600? 

I have read three books and I recommend them both.  Get them in paper back or your local library.  Rich Dad Poor Dad, The Millionaire Next Door, and The Total Money Makeover they are all by different authors.  One teaches what an asset is and is not, one teaches a formula if you will on how to build wealth, and the other one teaches you how to get out of debt.  They have motivated me to be more involved with what debt I (we) have and how to pay off our debt and motivated me to build wealth.  Sorry I stressed you out Heather.  I love you!

We as a family have focused on getting out of debt with gazelle intensity.  While paying off the house right now is out of the question at least we can pay off our hospital and other similar bills.  Credit cards we have gotten rid of five (I think) credit cards this year.  Our debt is dwindling.

I today in this year am glad to proudly say we have not put anything on credit since......... we moved from AZ and I left the military in April of 2010.

Who I am

I realize that blogging is a nothing new.  I have a facebook account and yet I don't want to say what I feel there.  There is to many ramblings I go on each day that I want to just vent about.  I don't know but I almost think that my blood pressure is at an unhealthy level.

A little about me.

I have a  wonderful family, Heather, Josiah, Noah, Raven, Rebekah, Caleb, and Kora.  I am a raving capitalist and more conservative than most.  I have a few liberal views of which have to do with living economically.  I listen to Rush Limbaugh, Laura Ingraham, Dave Ramsey, and a host of other talk show radio programs.  I don't have cable television and I believe that our founding fathers weren't perfect but they had a lot more right than we do now.

Why now.  Why with blogging so big why start now when I have resisted so long?  The simple answer is I want to become President of the United States.  Our current administration, who cares I will say it, Obama as our current Commander in Chief is failing in my opinion.  The ridiculousness of our current government position frustrates me to no end.  From all of the ridiculousness it has spurned my study of economy, and to ask the question "What is the purpose of government?"

I am sure each and every 2 of you that read this would have your own answer.  But for a society of millions of people, "What is the purpose of Government?"  I told a friend at work that I wanted to become president and he said what would be your platform.  Right now my platform would be live within  your means.

Our current spending is out of control.  Not my spending but the governments spending.  Let me list my disgruntlement.

Obama  Not leading

Social Security and the Ponzi scheme it is<-- What I don't understand is that the SEC hasn't condemned the SS Administration as unconstitutional.

Our National Debt <---This link is a treasure trove of research in one shot.

The Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  The question I have is how grateful are the people of Iraq for the sacrifice from our country.  I am sure there are a few but we would be hard pressed to see large communities happy with us being in their country.  I am not against the wars.  I don't know what I truly feel about us being in war.  I mean is what we did the RIGHT thing yes.  But at the same time helping my dad with his medical bills is the RIGHT thing to do but I can't afford it.  The same is true for Libya and Iraq, at least in my opinion.


Medicare and Medicaid seriously will I ever get to an age where I can use this.    I generally lump this with Social Security because of the fact that it is a ponzi scheme.  But in general Medicare is solvent until 2029 maybe and Medicaid solvent until 2037 maybe. 

What happened to the trust fund money of the Social Security 'extra'?  Really there is none left.  There is a magic cloud idea that every year the Government has taken in money there has been a surplus of money taken.  And we have bought bonds with that money.  When in reality the Social Security trust fund has given/lent/loaned money to the Government and was subsequently spent.  So in actuality the Government owes Social Security $2.5 Trillion.  That is 2,500 Billions to Social Security.  Sorry I have been paying to Social "security" for years and I don't feel very secure about it.

Alright that is the end of my ramblings for now.  My lovely wife suggested that I save some for later.